Whitman diners joined by feathered friends

Silvia Valdivia, a Food Services worker, first noticed an avian guest on Sunday. “I saw it by the fruit,” she said. “I feel bad for the bird because it’s looking for food or something to drink.”

Johannes Juliet, who has worked in Whitman Dining Hall for two years, said he saw the bird Saturday and Sunday. “They live outside. I don’t know how they come in. Maybe they leave the door open.”

Whitman does not have just one resident bird. Lucia Carrazco, also a Food Services worker, said she noticed two this weekend: one in the servery and one in the dining hall. “Alex in the kitchen took the bird [in the servery] and put it outside,” she said.

This is not the first time Alesandry Lopez, a cook in Whitman since its opening, has seen feathers in the Whitman dining hall. He saw a bird in the servery last April, and over the weekend he saw one in the storeroom.

“I caught it and put it in outside,” he said. “I threw my jacket over it and captured the bird.”

Despite the capaciousness of the Whitman rafters, life in the dining hall is often a death sentence for birds. “They have no water, nothing to eat inside,” Lopez said. “They die inside. It’s sad.”

Toral Ramaiya ’11 saw a bird Sunday at brunch. “It was hopping around the floor,” she said. “I think it’s pretty cute.”

Jian Chang ’11 and Princeton Kwong ’11 were more concerned about the situation. “We’ll have to start eating with caution,” Chang said. “It could have bird flu.”

“It might start pooping and stuff,” Kwong said. He then proposed a solution: “During the nighttime, the staff should flush it out,” he said.

The door is the only likely way for birds to enter the dining hall, Dining Services operations manager Laura Carter said. “The door’s been open for a week,” she explained. “They’ve been working on it, and nobody knows why. It might be because it’s locked and even a prox doesn’t open it.”

The door that opens to Whitman Courtyard was propped open with a chair from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday.

Public Safety officer Maleci Malec, who is the liaison for Whitman, has never heard anything about birds in dining halls. “There’s not a lot we could do,” he said upon hearing the news, explaining that “Dining and Food Services would call Customer Service” in a situation like this.

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Both Public Safety and Customer Service, a group within the Facilities Department, use Western Pest Control to catch birds and release them outside.

Malec said there used to be issues with birds nesting in statues. “They would go in the statue area, nest in there and poop all over,” he said. “They designed wire netting. It stops them from making a mess.” He suggested that birds’ means of access to Whitman be shut off.